KHPA Website - responsibility being handed over.

Mark Ashton Smith is no longer going to be updating the KHPA website as from 29th September 2007. Too much work and too little contact with his Cornwall flying friends. Time moves on. Not able to do a good enough job in keeping track of what's going on back home. Phippsy has offered to help. Thanks Graham.

KHPA Bulletin - Sept 2007 - now online! [click here for pdf]

Fun off the Line - Graham Phipps. Buddi Buoys and Quick Releases - Tim Jones. Meandering Across the Country - Graham Phipps. Kernow Cross Country League to Sept 25th 2007. Minutes of the KHPA September

Trip to France / British Nationals HG

"Sunday 19th August - Saturday 2nd September we were in France for some "free flying" at Larange and then competition flying (British Nationals HG) in St Andre. We had a top time with plenty of flying and excitement in what proved to be an eventful trip. Kaz managed to get some mountain flights in and can now say that she has flown and survived at St Andre. The comp' went well with myself returning with the third place trophy and Wills Wing T2's taking 2 of the top four places. Maybe we will have a fun trip there next year." (Phippsy)

KHPA Bulletin - August 2007 - now online! [click here for pdf]

It's been one whole year since Tim Jones took up the post of Bulletin Editor - well done Tim.

Debacle at the Turkish Open - Mark Ashton Smith. 'Could this be true?' photo. Wanda's search across the web continues - Wanda Summers. Kernow Cross Country League to Aug 30th 2007. Minutes of the KHPA August 2007 meeting.

Sennen & Gwenver - A Gentle Reminder.

Remember it is absolutely vital that anyone flying at Sennen or Gwenver contacts Lands End ATC BEFORE flying!

BB Acro Games, Ölu Deniz, Turkey : 8th - 12th August / The Turkish Open, Kayseri: 18th - 24th August.

Click here for a gallery of Mark and Annie's latest trip to Ölü Deniz for the 1st Belcegiz Beach Acro Games. Click here for an article of a fiasco at the Turkish Open in the flatlands of Kayseri where Bork had to cut away all his lines after crashing into a tree while the Valic brothers climbed to cloudbase.

Raul Rodrigez retires! August 3rd 2007

Raúl Rodríguez, Acro Paragliding World Cup Champion, the most well known and respected ACRO world champion pilot ever, has announced that he is to quit competition flying. Raul has perhaps been the most influential pilot within the sport of paragliding and his contribution to the discipline of acro has been imeasurable. Raúl, invented most of the extreme acro manouvres used today, such as the “Sat” or the incredible “Infinity Tumbling.” He is still the current Guiness world record holder for the most consecutive “Infinity Tumbles” completing a perfect 108 tumbles in June 2006. In June this year he won the Vertigo Voss acro competition. While Raul now focuses on research and development for Niviuk gliders, his brothers Alex and Félix, and his cousin Horacio, all three world class competitors, will continue competing.

X-Alps winner: Alex Hofer!

Martin Müller, watchmaker and Swiss champion, 40 years old, finishes the X-Alps race first  (flying/hiking = 56% / 44%) - but is docked 36 hours for aispace infringements so can't win! Within a few hours Swiss champion Alex Hofer (flying/hiking 61%/39%), comes in 2nd after flying around 150km on the last day to catch up lost ground. He gets the official X-Alps victory. Romanian powerhouse Toma Coconea (flying/hiking 24%/76% - incredibly), gets in next and is official runner up. Fourth in is 50 year old Urs Lötscher - also Swiss, and the best tactition of the competition. Will any others cross the finish line?

Toma Coconea, overjoyed, kisses the ground at the finish

X-Alps on line : Fight for the finish today! 5th August

The 850km vol bivouac adventure race through the Alps. Alex Hofer is flying like a demon, overtaking 50 year old Urs Lötscher who is also flying well. Powerhouse runner Toma Coconea from Romania is only kilometers from the leader, Müller, who can't win because of a time penalty. Hofer may still win. UK's Aidan Toase is fighting for a top place. Click here to see who gets podium spots. Check out the 'live tracking' link to follow the action.

Sennen and Gwenver sites

There are now signs at Sennen and Gwenver reminding people to call ATC. Also one at Gwenver saying 'By permit only'. Sarah the owner
has had one or two people who have been a trifle off hand and she would rather it was club only or with her permission. Martin Jones

Thinking of buying a new paraglider?

Analysing the statistics of the UK cross-country league for 2006 and 2007 reveals which the popular wings are now. Click here for a pdf file of this analysis by Mark AS for DHV 1-2 and 2 wings. Some of the figures might surprise you. Included are performance figures from Para 2000, the most comprehensive database on paragliders on the web.

For sale

Xcertina Bags in stock the must way to pack your new Paraglider, keep it stiffer for longer! £34.95

Thermal Flying - the book specifically directed at Paraglider & Hang Glider pilots , so good I bought one myself, easy to read, loads of pictures/photos excellent for all pilot skill levels £27.95 (hard back)

Cornwall Hang Gliding & Paragliding Services
www.flychaps.co.uk 01209842877 07785593559

Bork gets heat stroke in Anatolia!

Just in case anyone was thinking that Mark AS might be getting a bit of a smug git with his flying adventures in Turkey (not true), here's what happened to him the last time he tried to fly in the Turkish sun: serious heat stroke (not just heat exhaustion). Once back at the apartment, he pretty well collapsed. Annie had to wrap him in cold towels for several hours to bring his temperature back down! And this is 'fun in the sun'. More details here.

 
Clinical heat stroke (click to enlarge)

KHPA Bulletin - July 2007 - now online! [click here for pdf]

Dune bashing at Praa Sands. British Open Series Round 2: The Saga Continues - Graham Phipps. The Mere Bash. More Aerotowing (This Time in Holland). Kernow Cross Country League to July 23rd 2007. Report from Turkey - Mark Ashton Smith. Minutes of the KHPA July 2007 meeting.

The spirit of free flight

Click here to download a beautiful video from the JustAcro movie library. Where were these guys flying? (Note - this is a big file. Right click on the link to save the movie to your hard drive.)

BCC round - 4th-5th August

I'm trying to arrange a round of the BCC in the mid Wales area for the weekend of 4th and 5th August. If anyone who would like a friendly comp ring me by Wednesday 25th July I will be grateful. That will give me time to finalise things.

Daisy - Phone 01209 843380

CHAPS Promotions

Bit of Hot news. Check out the Summer edition of Adveture Cornwall magazine for an intro article on paragliding featuring a super shot of Terry looking very cool www.adventure-cornwall.co.uk available at most local retailers, tourist info centres etc.Also look out for "Copast" magazine due out mid July for a more in depth "Taster Day" article. Phippsy

KHPA Bulletin - June 2007 - now online! [click here for pdf]

Towing :You Should Give it a Go - Wanda Summers. British Open 2007 - Graham Phipps. About that 'new paraglider'! Glider for sale. Interesting website. Kernow Cross Country League to June 23rd 2007. Notes from the past: Phippsy's diary, 1987. Sennen and Gwenver sites. Photocaption.Minutes of the KHPA June 2007 meeting.

Demos / For Sale

"Ozone Buzz Z demonstrator just arrived, if you want a test flight on the glider that is set to become a classic call now." Phippsy

Cornwall Hang Gliding & Paragliding Services
www.flychaps.co.uk 01209842877 07785593559

NOVA ARTAX (medium) DVH 1-2; less than 100hours and still in very good nick; clean looking in patriotic colours. Ideal first or second glider; well practiced in cross country flying with nearly 300 ks under its risers. £695 ono. Contact Robin Mogridge tel: 013647243 mob: 07980929535 from South Devon Club. As I live just east of Plymouth on the A38, I'm not too far from most of your members for the purpose of showing off the canopy to anyone interested in buying it.

Robin Mogridge.

Cloud flying on Babadag, Ölü Deniz, Turkey - 7th June, 2007

Mark Ashton Smith was lucky to meet up with New Zealand paraglider pilot Matt Senior flying an Up Trango who took these stunning pictures of cloud flying on Babadag mountain. Click on the picture for the gallery. The camera was a Canon Powershot S60, the preferred paragliding camera according to Matt. And for some random person's video of cloud flying on Babadag...

cloud flying at Babadag

Denizli Pre-World Cup, 23rd-27th May

Mark AS and Annie Anderson flew as guest pilots on the final day of the Denizli Pre-Word Cup, Turkey. More details at Bork's blog here. Just pay a fiver, and you get transport / retrieve, free lunch, briefings, and medical support for the day, plus lots of experienced and friendly pilots to give you advice and fly with. Point is, for this kind of competition anyone can join in, and there are people who travel around doing these kinds of comps just for the fun of it, not expecting any top places. Why not try to coordinate a holiday with one of these comps and register for it? Well worth it for the experience and socializing. Here is the FAI calendar of comps for this year. Go to spain and do a comp for a day or two - just join in! Or Turkey - in August there is an open in Kayseri!

KHPA Bulletin - May 2007 - now online! [click here for pdf]

British Open Hang Gliding Trophy goes to Kernow pilot...again. Report by Tim Jones. Brand new paraglider design launched. Airways Airsports Isle of Man TT '07. Kernow Cross Country League to May 23rd 2007. Minutes of the KHPA May 2007 meeting.

British Club Challenge 2007

There is a BCC comp this weekend, 19th-20th May, either in Cornwall or SE Wales (though this is probably going to be cancelled, due to the weather). There is also one in SE Wales weekend 2nd-3rd June. Anyone interested should ring Jon T. on 01736 757771.

BCC 2006 winners and runners up (Avon and Kernow)

British Open Series (HG) - Report from Phippsy

The Bank Holiday weekend saw me head to Wales for the first round of the British Open series and the British Open competition itself. the weather was not as good as forecast however we did mange to fly. Under an unimpressive sky a crosswind turn point was set followed by a partial crosswind leg to the coast totaling 31k. Flying a brand new "out of the box" Wills Wing T2 144 i managed to be the only flex wing pilot to reach the goal so winning the task by a good margin. Unfortunately the weather then refused to play ball so no further flying took place resulting in my first place taking the overall comp.

KHPA Bulletin - April 2007 - now online! [click here for pdf]

So - what have you been up to lately? Report by Tim Jones. Kernow Cross Country League to April 30th 2007. Rogue pilot latest. Paraglider for sale. Minutes of the KHPA April 2007 meeting.

A busy day, Saturday April 21st Phippsy reports

Saturday 21st had a light southerly forecast with the potential for some thermals making an interesting day. The first few tows of the day proved that things were stirring and on my first on the Para to test conditions I found a gentle thermal which took me to over 1000' before pulling back to the field to get things moving. Phil S on the Hanger got off to an interesting start by bouncing off the telephone cables and redesigning the Calypso but preserving himself in fine shape. Keith W then set things in motion for the Para's and completed his remaining CPC tasks so completing his tow rating whilst also putting in a bit of thermalling alongside it. Well done Keith. Ray M had another super day consolidating on his CPC flights and hooked a couple of thermals to 360 in back over the field accompanied by shouts of delight - amazing. Ray also had to pose for yet more photo's for the article due to appear in Adventure Cornwall mag'. ...The hangers also had a good time with Adrian G trying the Mars before converting to a chest release then moving onto the Calypso and loving every moment of it and his BBQ was good too. Ron H-D was down to keep his hand in which he did very well and enjoyed a 10 minute "stooge" around the field in gentle lift with out a vario before putting in some pretty good spot landings. Phil S got back in the air and proved he can do it and also sneaked a go on the Tandem Pg. With plenty of "free" flyers and tandems Tim J on the winch pushed the new tow record to 80 for the day!! A special mention must got to Jon T who flew from Godrevy hill site where he thermalled up to the tow site on his new Mantra M2... proves something....stunning.....

For an ongoing update of Cornwall HG and PG Services click here.

Ölü Deniz , April 12th

Remember this place? For those of you who are thinking of coming out to Ölü Deniz this summer, here is a picture of Annie doing full stalls over the water yesterday. After the stalls she SATed it into Butterfly Valley. While she was doing this, Bork was busy trying to kill himself (see blog).

Annie at the stall point

Flychaps news, April 11th

Things have been hotting up on the tow field with loads of training going on along with plenty of "free" fliers turning up. March 26th saw myself go to 3,500' on a Paraglider out of the Deadmans Cove field before returning to earth to carry on teaching.

More recentely on Saturday April 7th 3 Hang Gliders piloted by Martin Fox, Paul Dunstan and Alan James went to around 2,500' from the Hells Mouth field where i joined them on a Paraglider before once again having to pull big ears to get down to teach leaving them to have a fab' time before heading back to the field for a good chat. There has also been plenty of boyant air around for the students to play with so summer is definitely on the way.

Check out the "What's On" page at www.flychaps.co.uk if you are interested on whats been happening or what is likely to and fancy joining in.

safe flying - Graham Phipps (Phippsy)

Bork and Skybabe Annie back in the loop, 9th April 07.

It's been a paragliding cul de sac in Anatolia over the winter. Dead. Now the season has taken off again and Turkey is fun again. Here are some photos of this weekend's paragliding festival in Kas (a couple of hours down the coast from Olu Deniz), organised by locals Ugur (pronounced 'oor') and his friend Murat. There is a new 650m take-off at Kas which you can see by scrolling down here. It's only a 15 minute drive and is easy to get to. Kas is a more interesting town than Olu Deniz with a genuine Turkish community, so it's worth checking out. You can fly along the coast from Kas to Kalkan - 20km of breathtaking scenery. It's paradise here guys. Looking forward to seeing you out in Olu Deniz soon! - Mark Ashton Smith

 
Kas, South Coast of Turkey

KHPA Bulletin - Feb 2007 - now online! [click here for pdf]

1995 Revisited - Rob Ings. Kernow Cross Country League to February 20th 2007. Spicing up Club Meetings questionnaire. Minutes of the KHPA Febrary 2007 meeting.

The luckiest woman alive.

Polish/German skybabe Ewa Wisnierska, paragilding world champion and woman of steel who lives in her car to live the free life, gets sucked into a cu nimb in the Manilla World Paragliding Championships, climbs at 20 m/sec to 32,612 feet (cruising altitute of Boeing 747s) among hail stones the size of oranges, loses consciousness for 40 minutes, returns to earth 60 km from take-off with frostbite and covered in ice, and lives to tell the tale ready for flying the next week! The Chinese pilot He Zhongpin who was sucked into the same cu nimb wasn't so lucky. BBC report here. Australian newspaper report here.

Frostbite Competition, 17th-18th Feb.

Hi Guys

The Kernow Hang Gliding & Paragliding Associations annual Frostbite
Competition is now scheduled for the weekend 17th/18th February here in sunny Cornwall, there is no back up dates so it will be good weather. As usual this will be a fun comp' with XC flying from the coast on the mythical sea thermals, ridge racing and spot landing as conditions dictate.

The saturday evening will be an informal affair in one of the local pubs nodoubt with further inter club competitions taking place. All pilots are
welcome although it should be taken into consideration that if the wind is Northerly we may be flying at St Agnes Head which has no bottom landing.

I have taken on the organising and those up for it should contact me on the numbers below for further details. Anyone looking for accomodation can normally find plenty of floor space at various pilots homes or there is
plenty pubs that can provide B&B.

See you there

Graham Phipps (Phippsy) 01209842877 07785593559
Cornwall Hang Gliding & Paragliding Services www.flychaps.co.u

Winter flying at Sennen.

Ron on his Rush:
Photo Martin Jones

The Thames Valley "Big Fat Repack", 11th March

This reserve packing get-together is to run on Sunday the 11th of March 2007 at the Rivermead Leisure Complex, Reading. For more details click here.

KHPA Bulletin - Jan 2007 - now online! [click here for pdf]

My Full Frontal Frolic - Nigel Eagle. CHAPS year 2006 - Phippsy. Club notices. Making meetings more attractive to members survey. Rule for the Kernow Cross Country League 2006-7. Minutes of the KHPA January 2006(?) meeting.

Car Parking at Perran Sands in 2007.

Some members will have received direct from Perran Sands Holiday Centre a letter setting out the terms for a parking permit to operate from March 2007. A charge of £10 is required and applications must be made before 13th January. Only a limited number of parking permits will be issued and priority has been given to persons who took up parking permits last year. Persons not obtaining a permit will be required to purchase parking tickets on a daily basis and I think the charge will be £2.50 per day.

This system has been applied to limit the amount of casual parking following complaints by residents in the Holiday Centre about difficulties caused by visiting cars parking near the caravans.

Previous conversations with the management encouraged me to hope that some special arrangement would be made for our members. I have been seeking meetings with the staff at the Holiday Centre but because of staff holidays and absences on business nothing has so far been agreed. I have put our case to the Holiday Centre in writing and await their reply.

In the meantime members who have received invitations to apply for parking permits should make application without delay. For other members I will do my best to get an allocation of permits and will get an announcement into our Bulletin and on the web site as soon as possible.

Coady wins Kernow Cross Country League 2006!

This year’s cross country champion is the up-and-coming Pete Coad, narrowly pipping sky god Jon Trewartha to the title. Hearty congratulations to Pete, and well done to all those who flew cross countries in Cornwall, and took the time to enter their flights.
The winning team was the Grizzly Bears, who showed that team work will often win out over Prima Donna individuals! Well done the Green Machine and Little Al. - Tim Jones

KHPA Bulletin - Dec 2006 - now online! [click here for pdf]

2006 BHPA AGM - Mark Woodhams. Club notices. Kernow Cross Country League 2006. Minutes of the KHPA 2006 Annual General meeting.Minutes of the KHPA December 2006 meeting. Kernow members' contact list.

Season's Greetings!

A nice card for the season from Wynne and Martin Jones.

Skybabes in Turkey! 16th Dec 06

Annie is not the only woman flying in Ankara, Turkey. There are dozens of them training every weekend. In the UK we find one women in 50 flying paragliders, in Turkey it seems to be 50/50 judging from the Ankara scene. Check out Bork's photo album from today's flying on Racon Tepe. (Even thought the sun was out, the flying was crap by the way.) Ataturk did very well for the women of Turkey.

BHPA Annual General Meeting, 2nd Dec 06

Mark Woodhams and Alan Phipps attended the BHPA AGM and the Sport and Leisure Aviation Show at the NEC in Birmingham on Saturday 2 December 2006 on behalf of the KHPA.

Mark’s summary report of the AGM will be written up for this month’s Bulletin.

Mark concludes: The AGM was short, sharp and well run. The Show itself was not huge and quite a few expected faces were missing. We understand that some of the usual trade stands were deliberately staying away to make a point about cost and convenience. Alan and I enjoyed the Show, but were sad not to see some old friends and I think looked back fondly to the days in Telford. Having said that, I understand that Telford have put up their prices so I'm not sure the missing exhibitors would be pleased with that either.

We did the Show and AGM in a day, which is a hell of a lot of driving but enjoyed it very much - especially Alan's super ham and salad rolls! But that's another story.

Club Coach Course a success

16 attended the club coach course over the weekend with a 50/50 split of hangers to paras and a total of 10 from Kernow. Will the KHPA now develop the coaching support system initiated by Daisy all those months ago?

7th International Olu Deniz Air Games - 26th - 29th October

Annie and Mark are now getting days of heavy snow in Ankara, but just two weeks ago on the Mediterranean coast they enjoyed 2 days of summer conditions at the Air Games festival in the company of Mike Kung, Felix Rodriguez, Pal Takats, and other lesser mortals. For their gallery of this exciting event, click here. Whatever anyone tells you, flying from Baba dag is fantastic and worth the hassle of the truck fees and British tourists. You'll learn loads and meet a lot of pilots.

Mike Kung flirting with Annie

CLUB COACH COURSE this weekend! - 11th-12th November

The Club Coach Course is this weekend coming (11th/12th). It does not as yet have ANY Kernow Paraglider Pilots booked on it which does not bode well for the future of paraglider coaching in the future! Could anyone who is up for it please contact Graham May (01209 843380) as soon as possible as things need to be firmed up. The course is being held in Portreath with lunch provided both days (sponsored by CHAPS) and refreshments through the day. No cost to club members and £20 to non members. The forecast for the weekend is practically no wind so flying is free unlikely making this an ideal weekend to go for it.

KHPA Bulletin - Oct 2006 - now online! [click here for pdf]

Summer 2006 'Road Trip' - Graham 'Lucky' Phipps. How It All Began - Mark Woodhams. Kernow XC League to Oct 26th, 2006. Club meetings. Flying Sites. Photos from Vault Bay. Minutes of the KHPA October 2006 meeting. Kernow members' contact list.

Mark (Bork) & Annie flying in Golbasi, Ankara, Anatolia. 15th Oct

The last two weekend's Mark and Annie have been joining the Bilkent University paragliding club to fly in nearby Golbasi. The club has it's own bus and store-room for wings. All instruction is free too. We're learning that Ankara has a very strong paragliding scene. Pity about missing the season! Still no 15,000 ft cloudbase stories! Click here for gallery.

Mark AS enjoying the Anatolian plains.

KHPA Bulletin - September 2006 - now online! [click here for pdf]

'We Was Robbed' - both Kernow teams finish second in BCC. Flying in the Haute Savoie - Martin Jones. Club Coaching course. Davidstow. Gay Jones. Kernow XC League to Sept 21st, 2006. KHPA Annual Dinner. Minutes of the KHPA September 2006 meeting.

CHAPS news, Sept 22nd

Cornwall Hang Gliding & Paragliding Services (CHAPS) are pleased to announce that in addition to their teaching of Paragliding on the tow line they are now fully qualified to carry out teaching on the hill including hill conversions for tow rated students. CFI Graham Phipps (Phippsy)is quickly running out of space on his BHPA card with only Pg tandem, power and HG Aerotowing to go. This alongside their existing qualifications in Hang Gliding (Hill, Tow and power) gives them the flexibility to maximise training opportunities based on the weather conditions so minimizing the time taken to train students in both disciplines.

Martin Jones reports on flying in the Haute Savoie, Aug 06.

A Great Trip. Fantastic, signed up with some trepidation for Dennis Trots Alpine Thermal course.....Located in the next valley to Chamonix, the village of La Fayet has the most beautiful surroundings and makes a great base for magic flying. It was roastingly hot on arrival, however the advertised thermals appeared and it was nice and cool at cloud base with amazing views of Mont Blanc and the Aiguilles above Chamonix. The take off from Plan Joux was different, but all the locals seemed totally nonchalant about it! A flat area for arranging your bits and a steep gravelly/shaley slope (that's steep). A nil wind flight to the valley took 20 mins. However when the thermals come through its a different kettle of fish - a quick right turn away from the t/o area, some close inspection of scenic pine trees and then wait for the predicted beeping. The backdrop of limestone wall and the jagged peaks behind t/o are sensational, on top is a huge area of karst or limestone pavement, and from that height the whole range of the aiguilles( including the Drusand Midi) are spread out in front of you. My DHV 1 - Z One, seemed a mite twitchy, but then we worked out my AUW.... too many pizzas!

Another of Dennis's favourite spots requires a 4 wd to get there, perched below a huge fang of rock its the perfect alpine meadow - ending in a cliff. The final day was spent at Annecy, and I managed to cross the lake and clock up some 10 km (at least) finally landing out in a dried up swamp (luckily dried up).

What a great 10 days - thoroughly recommended, attached are a few photos. Here is the web site address for Dennis's courses. For Martin's photos click here.

Bork's Blog - Turkish action from an Anatolian airhead.

Mark AS is using the name Bork and has set up a blog of his experiences out in Turkey. Check it out.

Blorenge Bank Holiday weekend (25th-27th, August)

Post from Alan Knight: "Find enclosed a photograph of Abergavenny, taken from the Blorenge take-off, which unfortunately we didn't due to high winds. Cannot tell you how we fared as they havn't updated the flybcc web-site (why am I not surprised).

Blorenge weekend sky

There was no BCC final and as you can see from the league results this is unfair to us since the 'winners' (Avon) did one more round than us. If we were matched for rounds, we most likely would have won it. Nonetheless we did well getting second out of 15 teams in the country.

KHPA Bulletin - August 2006 - now online! [click here for pdf]

New Editor Tim Jones' Thoughts. Towing with Phippsy. Mode S Transponders. 'XC school in Italy from the horse's mouth (lazy mare)' - Gay Jones. Kernow XC League to August 23rd, 2006. Minutes of the KHPA August 2006 meeting.

KHPA Summer BBQ, Friday 4th August

For some pictures of the enjoyable KHPA 2006 summer barbeque at St Agnes, click here. Photos: Annie Anderson.

Sennen in peak season!

Click on the image for some photos of Sennen Cove packed with tourists in peak season. Also a couple of pictures of Demo Route on the Sennen crag from directly overhead. Photos: Mark AS.

The Beach Cafe, Sennen

KHPA annual summer BBQ, 4th August

We will be holding our barbeque this Friday evening, 7pm, at St Agnes take-off field. For a weather report click here. Flying MAY be possible.

KHPA Bulletin July 06 now online! [click here for pdf]

Editor's farewell. HG British Open Series - Phippsy 5th. BCC HG final - Coady flies 109 km. Rosewall Hill action. Little Al on his mosquito. Stithians firewalk. Dennis Pagen XC Course, Monte Cucco, Italy. Calendar. Blorenge Bash and BCC final. Minutes of the KHPA July 2006 meeting. Kernow members' contact list and useful numbers.

HG British Open Series final round, Long Mynd/mid Wales, 22nd-26th July

The Kernow team were: Graham Phipps, defending his title, Patrick Buxton, Steve Hawken, and Geoff Brook. The final individual and team results over the 7 tasks flown can be found at this link. In an intense competition Graham was just beaten into 5th place behind Dave Matthews and Richard Lovelace who got joint 3rd out of a field of 60 pilots. The winner was Carl Wallbank with Gordon Rigg 2nd. Other kernow pilots were placed: Patrick (19); Steve (29); Geoff (31). As a team Kernow came 5th out of 20 teams. Phippsy's cumulative position over the series is 5th, with Carl Wallbank winning the series.

BCC HG Final Report, July 29th-30th, SE Wales

Graham May , Al James and Pete Coad made up the hang gliding team, with John Trewartha, Dave Stevens, Mark Butler, Mark Ashton Smith, Mike Abbott, Michel Kerhoas and Terry (from Bodmin) making up the paragliding team. Llangattock campsite was busy with all finalist teams from around the country present. The Saturday rained throughout the afternoon and evening as the front moved through. The free Hog Roast at the Bridge Inn pub was a success though. Thanks to Martin and Amy the organisers for that. The Sunday started with a low cloudbase and a stiff breeze - too windy for paragliders, so the final was postponed to the Blorenge Bash - the bank holiday weekend at the end of August. The HG comp, flying from Merthyr, was validated however, since 5 pilots got away. It was blowing between 20 to over 30 mph on the hill so take-offs in 'lulls' were intimidating. Only performance gliders took to the air on the day. Coady flew, and made 109km (just short of Stratford upon Avon). He dropped his airmap near Birmingham airspace so had to land which was disappointing for him. Cracking result in any case. He may have won the comp for Kernow with this score. We are currently awaiting the final result. For photos click here!

Pete and little Al on Merthyr, BCC final

Rosewall Action

Rosewall hill has been seeing some action this July. On Sunday 16th, John had three flights - to Halsetown, Carbis Bay and Troon. The last flight was with little Al, and they both just about got to the convergence. Dave flew to Trencrom, fell in a stream, and got a tick. Mark B. flew to near St Ives. Mike Abbott flew to Halsetown while others thought it had stopped working. What a day. On the 27th July, Pete and John caught a boomer and flew to near Praa Sands!

John flying Rosewall

Phenomenal Freefall stunt

Check out this movie: an amazing configuration of skydivers, found by Alan Phipps.

Proposed BCC Final, July 29th-30th, SE Wales

The BCC Final for both hang gliders and paragliders is proposed for this coming weekend in SE Wales. For updates on the weather click here. For Weatherjack click here. The KHPA PG team are currently placed 2nd out of the 15 teams who have participated, and if we'd done the same number of rounds as the leader we'd be in the lead. We want to win the comp this year. Last year we were beaten to second place by just 1 km! The six finalist teams are Kernow, Avon, Cumbria, SE Wales, Pennine and Dales. The weather is hot and humid though, so there may be a chance of rain or thunder that weekend. Fingers crossed. Contact either John T. or Daisy for details.

Paragliding Art

Click here for an image created by Mark AS, using GoogleEarth and Photoshop. It shows a paraglider flying over Talybont.

KHPA Bulletin - June 2006 - now online! [click here for pdf]

Editor's blurb. June club flying highlights. British Club Challenge, SE Wales, June 3rd-4th, June 17th-18th, July 1st-2nd. Carn Brea and Godrevy action. Why we're so good. News. Request from Sec. Chris. Why we can walk on hot coals. The Red Arrows Are At Your Mercy, But Perhaps You are Too Tired To Care - Nigel Everett (sourced Alan Phipps). Now Where Was I? - Tim Jones. Kernow Cross Country League to June 18th. Calendar. Minutes of the KHPA June 2006 meeting. And more!

British Club Challenge Round (PG), 1st-2nd July

This round of the BCC - called by the Joint Services club - was flown from Talybont. By the end of the first day, the maximum distance flown had been 14km. It wasn't an epic day. Dave got 12km with some nice tactical flying. John Trewartha and Al James got 9km. Pete Coad and Mark AS didn't get away which was frustrating for both of them. Mark got stuck on the spine-back ridge to the west, but luckily wasn’t tempted to thermal over it at low altitude like the guy who ended up getting multiple collapses and reached for his reserve in the lee side rotor. It was Alan Knight’s first flight at Talybont and he got in some good thermalling practice. [continued in previous news items]

British Club Challenge Round (PG), 1st-2nd July

This round of the BCC - called by the Joint Services club - was flown from Talybont. By the end of the first day, the maximum distance flown had been 14km. It wasn't an epic day. Dave got 12km with some nice tactical flying. John Trewartha and Al James got 9km. Pete Coad and Mark AS didn't get away which was frustrating for both of them. Mark got stuck on the spine-back ridge to the west, but luckily wasn’t tempted to thermal over it at low altitude like the guy who ended up getting multiple collapses and reached for his reserve in the lee side rotor. It was Alan Knight’s first flight at Talybont and he got in some good thermalling practice. The Sunday was called for Talybont again, but after waiting at the top for a few hours it was canned. The Kernow pilots left - John, Dave, Al and Mark - as well our Joint Services friend Craig, all flew in a SW'ly from the Blorenge down to the pub (or close by!) for a final pint. Dave SATed it over Castle Meadows! Yes - a SW'ly is a possible wind direction for the Blorenge! As for the comp, we're through to the final at the end of the month with ease!

2 hour walk up! Photo: Alan Knight

Steve Penaluna Trophy awarded for 2006.

The Steve Penaluna Trophy was awarded to Alan James on the 12th June at the KHPA monthly meeting. Al was chosen by a panel for “exceeding normal standards and enthusiasm” in his flying - in the spirit of Steve Penaluna. Well done Al!

Final results from the 2006 European Hang Gliding Championship, June 16th – 29th 2006, Croatia.

Phippsy was in the top half of the 98 competitors. Britain as a whole did well and were 3rd out of 23 nations. Check out the final results here.

British Club Challenge (PG), SE Wales, 17th June.

On Saturday 17th, Dave Stevens, Glen Fowler, Alan James and John Trewartha all drove up to Abergavenny, SE Wales, in John's para van. They got there by 9am, in three hours flat! Due to the high speeds involved, when John took a bend on the road he gave the signal for everyone to lean over to the opposite side - like on a sailing dinghy - to keep the van on the road. Phil drove up in comfort in his BMW. Mike Abbott, Annie Anderson and Mark Ashton Smith met up with them all later at the site that had been called for that day - Nant-y-Moel: a 530m SW'ly. Some epic flights from the Kernow team, and we won the that round of the comp easily. (The Sunday was canned.) Mark AS got the longest flight of the comp at 52.4 km (open distance), landing at Glasbury near Hay-on-Wye after over three hours in the air after being scared out of the sky by a sail plane. He never had a clear idea where he was throughout the flight until asking at the petrol station after landing. (Continued here)

British Club Challenge (PG), SE Wales, 17th June.

On Saturday 17th, Dave Stevens, Glen Fowler, Alan James and John Trewartha all drove up to Abergavenny, SE Wales, in John's para van. They got there by 9am, in three hours flat! Due to the high speeds involved, when John took a bend on the road he gave the signal for everyone to lean over to the opposite side - like on a sailing dinghy - to keep the van on the road. Phil drove up in comfort in his BMW. Mike Abbott, Annie Anderson and Mark Ashton Smith met up with them all later at the site that had been called for that day - Nant-y-Moel: a 530m SW'ly. Some epic flights from the Kernow team, and we won the that round of the comp easily. (The Sunday was canned.) Mark AS got the longest flight of the comp at 52.4 km (open distance), landing at Glasbury near Hay-on-Wye after over three hours in the air after being scared out of the sky by a sail plane. He never had a clear idea where he was throughout the flight until asking at the petrol station after landing. John got to the Bridge Inn in Abergavenny for an open distance of over 40km. Al was flying well on a paraglider again. Glen had a good 10km cross-wind flight, this time with a reserve - an excellent second XC. Mike Abbott had his first 'getting away' experience, coring a thermal over the back up to a few thousand feet and landing 8km away. Well done for this milestone! Mike landed at a valley town where he couldn't take his eye off his kit for a moment for fear of it being looted, while Dave landed at the golf course near Fochriw where the friendly locals were so impressed they bought him a pint! Back on the hill Phil and Annie enjoyed their flights too in the buoyant thermic air, building on their experience. But who was the local know-it-all who was hassling the only woman pilot? The barbeque and chit chat later on at the campsite was enjoyed by all. For some photos from the day click here. For latest results of the comp click here.

    
Annie and Glen on Nant-y-Moel    Phil's torch lights up the para van

Google Earth Track Logs.

Mark AS has discovered a cool way of downloading Garmin GPS flight logs onto Google Earth. The mapping technology is amazing. If anyone wants to do the same with their own GPS logs, contact Mark. It's all free and easy to do!

Latest Kernow XC League results and more...

The competitions page of this website has been updated. Check out the local Kernow league results. Do an out and return ridge run and get on the table for your team (the minimum distance is only 3km)! Also check out the updated national XC comp results and the British Hang Gliding Open Series results.

KHPA Bulletin - May 2006 - now online!

You can download the latest KHPA bulletin by going to the KHPA Bulletin link or by clicking here for the PDF file.

British Club Challenge comp (PG), June 3rd-4th.

A cracking weekend in SE Wales for Mark Butler, Dave Stevens, John Trewartha, Mark Ashton Smith, Michel Kerhoas and Glen Fowler. The Saturday was a very light NW'ly so we flew from the Blorenge. Everyone got away, with cloud base at over 5,000 ASL, but there was a lack of clear XC strategy. Those who were going for distance flew East, but we should all have tracked cross wind over the Black Mountains to the North where the clouds kept working. Glen had an awesome first XC flight ever. At one point he was seen big-earing out of a dark cloud that was sucking him in - and he wasn't flying with a reserve! On the Sunday Dave S, Mark B, and Mark AS all flew open distance from Merthyr to just outside Abergavenny, while John T. flew to Pontypool. These flights were all around the 24-25 km mark and they should have added up to a decent result for Kernow for that day. For photos click here.

John Trewartha's XC from Carn Brea to the Lizard, 30th May.

John T and Mark B were at Carn Brea on this windy but booming day, and both went over the back in challenging thermals. John did two XCs on that day: the first to the edge of Culdrose airspace where he was forced to land since cloud base was just above 2000ft and he couldn ’t get the clearance he needed - keeping a close eye on the helicopter activity below him. On the second attempt he made sure he tracked further East, via Gweek, and made it to the Lizard for 26 km. For his inspirational photos, click here.

looking South at cloud base

Graham Phipps wins first leg of the HG British Open!

Phippsy won two of the three tasks flown in SE Wales over the 28th-30th April, putting him in overall first place in the comp out of over 50 pilots and giving him an excellent start for his defence of the title he won last year. Patrick Buxton was placed 12th, and Steve Hawken and Geoff Brook joint 38th. For Graham's account of the competition, have a look in April's bulletin.

crossing the Severn Bridge into England

Keep a watch out for others if you're doing acro!

Here is an incident from last year's Air Games at Olu Deniz that goes to show that it's important keep aware of other pilots if you're doing acro!  Click here. This movie comes from the excellent Paragliding Forum site.

Bank holiday Monday, May 1st.

A beautiful day with free fliers spread out over the North coast - at Perran, Hayle and Sennen. Roll on summer. For some photos from the day at Sennen by Martin Jones, click here.

Sennen soaring, May 1st

Olu Deniz in April!

Mike Abbott and his family were in Olu Deniz for two weeks this month, renting a car and staying in the villa advertised in Skywings. More of a report from Mike on his flying experiences later. Mark Ashton Smith and Annie Anderson met up with them on Saturday 22nd in the evening at a beach front hotel. Olu Deniz at the time wasn't exactly buzzing. On the 23rd Annie, Mark and Mike had a flight together from the 300m take-off (cloud stopped us flying from the top), as well as a nice relaxing day. The following day Mike, Kim and Finley were off the airport. Annie and Mark took two trips up to the top of Baba Dag but it was blown out both times. They met some very interesting characters that day though. For some photos from their two days in Olu Deniz, click here.

Mahoney's tattoo

Easter weekend BCC (PG) comp cancelled - but Kernow pilots have a good weekend anyway! 14th - 16th April.

Chairman Dave, Mark B. Mark AS, John, Wayne (John's mate), Annie, Manuel, Alan, Michel and Terry (from Bodmin) all enjoyed some Easter weekend action in SE Wales. Kernow pilots flew every day, at Merthyr, Pandy, the Blorenge, Fochriw, and even Rhossili Bay. The best day was at Merthyr. In the afternoon conditions became epic and several Kernow pilots circled up to 4000-6000 ft AGL in booming thermals all over the sky. Mark AS did a mini 6-7 km XC, drifting with a cloud, landing next to a golf course behind Fochriw. The others decided not to go XC (there wasn't far to go) and instead played with the awesome height above and in front of the hill. It was Terry's first inland flight to this altitude and he said it was the best flight of his life. For some reason the BCC comp was cancelled! For some photos from the day, click here.

Mark Butler playing at Fochriw

KHPA Membership form online.

Please print out this KHPA membership form, fill it in, and send it to Paul Howse, Trecarne, Carnmeal Downs, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 9NL. It should only take 5 minutes. This is important for the BHPA.

Easter weekend BCC (HG) comp. Victory for Kernow!

Daisy, Little Al and Patrick all put in a good performance at the Mynd over the weekend to win the round for Kernow. Proper job.

BCC round - action at Easter weekend!

Three PG rounds have been proposed for the SE Wales on the 14th, 15th and 16th April (Easter weekend). See the BCC site for confirmations. Here's the weather for Abergavenny. Talk to John Trewartha (PG) if you want to go. Hangers contact Graham May.

Gwenvor/Sennen, Thur, 6th April and Sat 8th April.

Two spectacular day's soaring and sea thermalling in brisk conditions at Gwenvor. On both days pilots thermalled up to over 500 ft ATO. For some photos click here.

Capstan Gallery, Sennen

JustAcro: New paragliding acro website now online.

The most comprehensive and up to date acro site now online. Check out this video download page for starters!

Carn Brea and St Agnes, 3rd April.

John T. flew XC from Carn Brea to Longdowns (approx. 6 miles) where the clouds fizzled out. Thermals were initially small and scrappy in Spring air so this was some skilful flying. It made a good birthday treat. Chairman Dave flew to cloudbase above the hill on the same afternoon, but couldn't go over the back because he had to stay with his dog who was keeping an eye on him from the hilltop! Later there was evening flying at Aggie - very relaxing. A few shots here.

Dave high over Carn Brea

KHPA Bulletin - March 2006 - now online.

You can download the latest KHPA bulletin by going to the KHPA Bulletin link or by clicking here.

Angelo D'Arrigo has died! 26th March.

The visionary Italian hang glider and paraglider pilot who features in this month's Cross Country magazine for flying a hang-glider to 9,100m in wave and who recently soared up and above the North Face of Everest has died as a passenger in a light aircraft. He was 45. For a great video of his exploits (including his flight over Everest) check out this link. His website can be found here. A sad loss.

Angelo D'Arrigno

Friday, 31st March: Club Coach Meeting.

For all club coaches in the KHPA. Meet at the Portreath Arms at 7.30pm. Daily will be proposing a new coaching system.

CAA General Aviation Safety Meeting, 22nd March, 7.30pm.

The CAA are holding a general aviation safety evening at the Gliding Club House, Perranporth Airfield, at 7.30pm. KHPA members welcome!

'40K in 40 minutes' - Graham Phipps.

"Saturday 4th March was forecast a fresh northerly breeze, post cold frontal conditions with occasional showers, sounded good to me, so after doing a few household chores it was off to St Agnes to give my T2 its first airing since September. On arriving I was greeted by the sight of Paul, Gay and Al J all sitting in their cars whilst Hakim was trying to secure his partially rigged glider from the inevitable “occasional” shower which quickly turned into a mini blizzard. All was not lost and after this less than promising start the sky cleared and out to sea could be seen the classic cumulus we were hoping for." For the full story click here.

Thames Valley's 'Big Fat Repack', Sunday, 5th March.

Mike Abbott, Phil Austin, Manuel Lira, Alan Knight, Woody (Jeffery Wood), Raymond Mickleburg, Martin Jones, Annie Anderson and Mark Ashton Smith all made the 4 1/2 hour trip up to Reading for this year's Big Fat Repack. All our reserves deployed OK on the zip line - and we all learned (more or less) how to repack them ourselves - some taking longer and needing more assistance than others! Andy Hancock and his dad were also at the event, and generally it was a good occasion for chatting to other pilots. For some photos from the day click here.

Alan, Woody, Manuel & Mike

St Agnes - Saturday, 4th March - XC to the Lizard!

A booming day for hangers. Graham Phipps got away and flew to the Lizard, putting the Wild Weasels into the lead in the KHPA cross-country league. The following day (Sunday) Pete Coad flew from St Agnes to Perran and back, getting some points for the Snorting Bulls!

Carbis Bay, Friday, 3rd March.

20+ paragliders converged on Carbis Bay to enjoy a long afternoon's flying in very cold temperatures. Consistent sea thermals got pilots up to as much as 300 ft ATO early on. A few photos can be found here.

Heavy traffic at Carbis

The British Paragliding and Hang Gliding Club Challenge.

The 2006 BCC season is now open - and the web site is up and running. The pic below is on the home page - Pete, Little Al, Mark B, Tim, where were you? Check out the other pictures on the BCC 2005 gallery.

Contact Daisy (hangers) or John (paras) to get involved this year. Talk to Pete to find out how much fun it is!

2005 PG Winners (Thames Valley) and runners up (Kernow).

Flying continues at Carbis Bay. Feb 26th.

For the latest report from Roger Full (site officer) click here.

Perran Sands  - parking and revised site rules. Feb 19th.

For the new parking arrangements and updated site rules click here.

KHPA Subscriptions now due!

Please pay your £15 to Paul Howse ASAP! All the details (with Paul's address) can be found under 'Membership' here.

Carbis Bay ploughed up!

That nice grassy hill has gone guys! Click on the image below to see the state of the Carbis Bay site now. For paragliders there is a small patch in the far Easterly corner of the official field where you can take off and land (with some spot landing skill). You can only get to the take off by the path running parallel with the railway now. The field next to the road has been plowed up too. It's questionable whether hang gliders can use this site for the time being (nowhere to land). And what is planned for the ploughed fields? More details will follow. [Report Mark AS, 23rd Feb]

where has the grass gone!

Pilot Exam notes.

Mark AS will be writing up notes for the Pilot Exam over the next few weeks which can be obtained as a PDF document here. Also follow this link. For those of you who want to do the Pilot exam within the next few weeks, contact Mark Butler (07971 795 559).

Big Fat Repack, Sunday 5th March.

Held at the Rivermead Leisure Complex, Reading and conducted by the BHPA's Bill Morris. "A zip slide allows you to deploy your reserve in a realistic yet safe environment. The repacking talk and qualified packers will enable repack you reserve with confidence. The Dealing with accidents talk and first aid demonstration will empower you to deal with incidents." Go to the web site to book now. Only £20. Many KHPA members will be going. Talk to Mike Abbott (01736 798598).

Club Coach Course, Thursday 11-12th February.

Six KHPA members attended the club coach course held by Mark Dale and Dave Thompson (Technical, BHPA), in Ivybridge, Devon. Two days in a classroom! Well worth it though. We may possibly see a few more coaches on the hill provided the Club approves.

Carbis Bay, Thursday 9th February.

Both floppies and hangers enjoyed an afternoon at Carbis in fresh NE winds. Good soaring, but sea thermals didn't seem to develop much (high pressure?) so there were no high altitude gains. Photos here.

Carbis Bay, Saturday 4th February.

10+ paragliders. The morning was very good, with abundant sea thermals. The wind veered to the East and thermic activity dropped mid afternoon. Click here for photos.

Carbis Bay, Saturday 4th February.

10+ paragliders. The morning was very good, with abundant sea thermals. The wind veered to the East and thermic activity dropped mid afternoon. We saw some hand towing in very light winds - as well as lots of standing around - at this time. Later on the wind backed more Northerly again with renewed thermal action, opening a window of an hour or so for some effortless thermal flying or seat-of-your-pants scratching depending on which part of the cycle you happened to be in. There were a few beach landings - the stakes were high. And what's happened to the fences?! Click here for photos.

Nice hat Pete!

Al James's photos of his Mosquito flight to Falmouth online!

Click on one of the photos below to view the gallery.

    

Thermal Streamers - a useful thermal detecting technique?

Thermals cause localized changes in the wind. The figure below shows the combination of general wind and air pulled in by the thermal core. This is why you often get a lull as a thermal approaches and a surge of wind as you feel its trailing edge. But how can you see a thermal as it moves over the field in front of the site before it reaches you on the hill? For a simple technique using streamers, click here to find out more.

KHPA Annual Dinner photos online!

For the full set of photos taken by Alan Phipps from the night, click here or on one of the photos below:

   

KHPA Bulletin - January 2006 - now online.

You can download the latest KHPA bulletin by going to the KHPA Bulletin link or by clicking here.

Frostbite 2006 postponed

Due to high winds the hang gliding Frostbite comp that was scheduled for the 28th to 29th Jan has been postponed until further notice.

For paras, Saturday 21st was a write off, despite some early morning soaring at St Agnes and three top to bottoms at Carn Brea.

Sunday 22nd saw a full flying day at Vault Bay, with early morning sea thermals getting Chairman Dave up to cloudbase twice, and consistent flying at 200-300 ft ATO throughout the day. A handful of Kernow pilots were there, as were some of the Devon and Somerset Condors. No opportunity for XCs though, and the Frostbite comp was called off. Contact Dave Stevens (07855 688 203) for news on the paragliding Frostbite Competition.

Saturday 21st January - KHPA Annual Dinner

The Annual Dinner at the Seiners Arms, Perranporth, was a resounding success, with a fine speech by Chairman Dave on KHPA's record for 2005, some well deserved trophies & prizes acknowledging individual achievements over the year, some great photos (some of Alan Phipps' photos of his son as a very young man had to be seen to be believed!), and of course good food, enjoyable company and DJing by Brian's young son! Many thanks to Alan for arranging the event. More details in this month's Bulletin. For Alan's photos click here.  

Hang Gliding / Paragliding simulation game.

Click here to download a demo of a good PC simulator in which you can set wind speed, cloud base, thermal frequency, dimensions and strength, 'cloud-suck', 'gust factor' and where in the Alps (on an accurate 3D map) you want to start your flight from. You can download a paraglider to fly with here. Any questions on how to use it ask Mark AS who has figured a fair bit out. It's very simple to use. Full cost: £18.

Good flying at Carbis Bay, Sunday 8th Jan.

Four or five hang gliders and up to ten paragliders gathered at Carbis Bay hill for some good flying conditions, with decent sea thermals in abundance from Carbis to St Ives where a number of pilots flew to. Why did those thermals seem to die at around 4-500 ft ATO though, preventing us from going over the the back?

Second Kernow Tow Group meeting, Wednesday 4th January.

For a report on this meeting see the Dec 05 Bulletin.

Towing with Graham, Dec 11th.

According to Graham: "There was also a good smattering of "free flyers" using the lines and running an informal spot landing comp which was held by John T on his Paraglider until Geoff B put in a late bid on his Talon which was matched on the next landing by Alan J on his Sport 2 (HG) to round off the day." For some excellent photos from the day by Alan Phipps, click here or on the images below.

    
Paul and Tim keeping the show running

Pilot revision session with Mark Butler. 7th December.

Mark B., Dave, John, 'big Alan' (not 'big Al' who recently got his Pilot!), Manuel, Mark AS, Annie and Mike had a four hour Pilot revision session that was of great benefit to everyone. Thanks to both Mark Butler for giving a great presentation, and Mike Abbott for holding it at his house and laying on drinks and snacks.

Power conversions, Davidstow, 23rd November.

Wednesday 23rd November was Power conversions and what a nice day it was for it. A total of five units and pilots gathered at Davidstow. Pete C who was going pond spotting, Paul H brushing up on his touch and goes, Alan A doing his final flying assessment, Alan J and Steve B starting their conversions, By mid afternoon Pete and Paul had done enough so decided to fly home landing at the "model" field near Hells Mouth for a nice XC flight. Both Alan J and Steve B did really well experiencing light winds in the early part of the day and moderate breezes in the latter part and knocking up 15 flights between them with Al taking his unit up to 3,000' for a good look around. With plenty of flying the both got their "Restricted" endorsements and are keen to continue to full endorsements in the near future.  [report: Graham Phipps]

Tow weekend, Smeatharpe, Honiton, 19th -20th November.

Manuel Lira, Mike Abbott, Alan Knight, Mark Butler, Dave Stevens and Mark Ashton Smith joined up with Jeff Hoer, Andy, Nick and Harriet from the Devon and Somerset Condors Tow Syndicate over the weekend to do some tow launched paragliding. Saturday was blown out and the KHPA crew spent the afternoon ground handling and scratching at a local site. On the Sunday conditions were perfect for towing. Everyone got several flights, with the recent conversions building on their towing experience. Mark B. and Dave did SATs, spirals and spins to a captive audience. Mark AS got his conversion with 10 tows. For photos from the weekend, click here.

   
Kernow boys enjoying a weekend in Devon

Tow conversions with Graham Phipps, 17th November.

Manuel Lira, Mike Abbott, Alan Knight, Steve Rose and Phil Austin all got tow converted by Phippsy with 50+ tows in a single day! A full report by Mike Abbott will be coming out in November's bulletin. This is what Phil had to say about it: "The tow conversion was last thursday in excellent conditions at Fiddlers Green. There were five of us taking part, me Phil, Mike Abbot, Manuel, Steve the fireman and big Al, with graham instructing and Paul on the winch. Excellent day. It was all a great rush for us all even though none of us slept the night previously wandering what the next day had install for us. We were sorry that Woody missed it but the poor people do have to work." For Phil's photos from the day click here.

Tow conversions Nov 17th

Four day 'Adventure First Aid' course, 14th - 17th November.

John Trewartha, Annie Anderson and Mark Ashton Smith passed their four day 'first aid at work' course, with Guy Risdon and Simon Atkinson of Adventure First Aid. They all have first aid kits (John's is suitcase sized and designed for paragliding accidents!) and since first aid is fresh in their minds, they should be points of contact in case of emergencies on the hill.

Castelluccio paragliding holiday, 4th - 10th November.

Annie Anderson and Mark Ashton Smith enjoyed a few days of perfect conditions in the paragliding paradise of Castelluccio di Norcia in the company of 6 Swiss pilots from 'Chill Out' (link). Click here for photos of this amazing place in central Italy, two and a half hours south of Monte Cucco in the Sibillini National Park. For a report on their trip see November's bulletin.

pre breakfast soaring at 1,800m!

Kennegy open, 29th October.

The Kennegy site has now been 'authorized' by the landowner for internal use of KHPA members only according to the rules listed in the September bulletin.

Saturday, 22nd October.

A good day for paragliders at Perran and Chapelporth on Saturday until the rain set in. For some photos from the afternoon at Perran Sands click here.

Perran Sands, Oct 22nd

John Atkinson has passed away.

John Atkinson passed away after a short illness on Wednesday 5th October 2005. John was a much respected past editor of the Kernow Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Bulletin who flew both hang gliders and paragliders. He was a softly spoken and humorous flying buddy who will be greatly missed by his friends in the free flying community. The funeral was held at 3.00pm on Wednesday 12th October at the Trelawney Chapel at the Penmount Crematorium just outside Truro.A piece on John will be written up by Mark Woodhams for the October Bulletin.

Steve Hawken flies 35 km from St Agnes. Sunday, 2nd October.

This was a good day for hangers all round,with up to eight gliders enjoying very lifty conditions. Steve Hawken got away from the coast in sea thermals, connected with inland convergence streets, and flew an impressive 35 km to Goonhilly Downs in the Lizard. On the same day Graham Phipps flew out to sea to within 150m of ‘the rock’ in sea thermals. He said he had 700 feet to spare when getting back to the coast and could probably have flown over the top of the rock.

Raymond turns 80 in this October!

Mark B ’s CP student Raymond will be turning 80 in October -hopefully the month that he will become a fully qualified CP paraglider pilot. Raymond was servicing Spitfires back on WW2,and his love of flying and determination is an inspiration to all.

Alan Phipps is flying again!

On Sunday, 2nd October, after two replacement hip operations and three years' layoff, Alan flew again at St Agnes! No problem with his take-off and landing either. He was talking about his intention to fly again during September’s club meeting and true to his word he ’s done it. Excellent news, and it will be great to see Alan on the hill this winter.

Graham Phipps offers new towing services.

Cornwall Hang Gliding & Paragliding Services (Chaps) now offer Tow Training (from scratch) and Tow Conversions for both hang gliding & paragliding. For more information contact Graham at 07785 593559 or 01209 842877 or go to: www.flychaps.co.uk

Carbis Bay, Saturday, September 17th.

A good day for floppies - with sea thermals popping off everywhere. For some photos by Annie Anderson of the paragliding scene on this day click here.

Carbis Bay, Sept 17th

Carbis Bay, Sunday, September 11th

There was a gathering of several hang gliders and one or two paraglider pilots at Carbis on Sunday. Paragliders had enjoyed better conditions earlier in the day.

  
Carbis Bay, Sept 11th

Click here to see some photos (by Mark AS's dad Alan) from later on that day.

Graham Phipps wins HG British Open Series!

Phippsy's position in this year ’s Series was confirmed when you took second place in the Yorkshire Open 2005 competition held in the Yorkshire Dales from Friday 26th August through until Tuesday 30th August. For full details go to: www.theleague.force9.co.uk.

Al and John thermal over St Ives from Rosewall Hill (John's Hill), 21st August 2005.

For the full report by Mark AS see the KHPA August Bulletin.

Patrick Buxton and UK team win HG Bleriot Cup in St Andres and Col de Bleyne, France. 16 to 20 August.

Go to the KHPA September Bulletin, for Patrick's write-up of this competition. For some of Patrick's photos from his time in the Alpes Maritime, click here.

Bleriot Cup winners

2005 British Open, Long Mynd - 27th-30th August, 2005.

This is the third and final round of the paragliding British Open, consisting of both an 'Open Championships' which the pilot with most points over the 3 rounds wins, irrespective of nationality, and a 'British Championship'. The previous two rounds were held at Mayrhofen, Austria and Piedrahita, Spain. For details see: http://www.pgcomps.org.uk/

Some of us will be going up to the Long Mynd (Bishops Castle) for part of this 4-day event, hoping to learn something from the top pilots (Russell Ogden, Adrian Thomas, etc). 

BCC Final, Mid-Wales - August 7th, 2005.

The final round of the paragliding British Club Challenge was held this weekend in Mid-Wales. Kernow got an impressive second place, beating Avon who'd been leading up til then. Thames Valley won the day and the competition. For a write-up of Kernow at the BCC click here.

Andy Hancock does 9 miles in Dartmoor - 16th July.

Andy H. did a nice little flight from Corn Ridge to near Cox Tor, getting to 2700 ft ATO and flying in cloud. This was Andy's first time at cloud base, so well done to him. For his report click here.

Personal bests for KHPA paraglider pilots at BCC, South Wales - 10th July.

John T., Mark B., Dave, Al, and Pete all fly big distances from the Blorenge, with Dave, Al and Pete all achieving personal bests. It was an epic weekend. Read account in July Bulletin here. Gallery here.

John Trewartha and Dave Stevens do mega XCs at the British Club Challenge from Merthyr, South East Wales. July 3rd.

John T. flew open distance to a few miles beyond Hereford -at 73Km, his all time best for the UK. He got in a house thermal when coming in to land and could have gone on, but was knackered and called it a day (his 6am drive up didn't help). Dave made it to Abergavenny, another big distance and Dave's personal best. For more details click here.

On the strength of these flights, Kernow may still be in the lead in the BCC comp.

No more flying at Carbis Bay! June 26th.

The tenant farmer for the Carbis Bay site does not want us flying on his land, as of Sunday 26th. The crowd that gathered on Sunday was too much of an imposition for him. Negotiations with the site officer (Roger Full?) are now needed.

As Andy Hancock reports: "There appears to be a new tenant farmer who has taken over tenancy of the farm and land that our Carbis site lies on. The previous tenant farmer has obviously not passed on any information regarding any agreements between himself and the KHPA club to the new farmer. The new farmer does not know who we are, if we are in an organised club, who the BHPA is OR how he/ we stand insurance wise etc etc......

We dont want the new tenant farmer getting upset by pilots walking across his land and flying off his fields before we have had chance to re-negotiate this site properly through the club and the sites officer. There are not many places to fly in Cornwall on a NE direction and it would be a great shame if we lost this site for good due to ignorance of this notice.

This mail has been sent to all members on the club bulletins mailing list as listed in the 'TO:' address bit above. If you know any club members who are not on this list then please could you tell them about this issue and NOT TO FLY CARBIS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!! ASAP." (June 28th)

Pete Coad does a 16km paragliding XC from Talybont, South Wales. 19th June.

Pete has done his first XC on a paraglider - 16km from Talybont in the Brecon Beacons, South Wales, in a round of the British Club Challenge. He didn't win the comp but was in the top three. All Pete's experience on a hang glider transferred well to a canopy on this day. Some photos from the day can be found at this link.


John Trewartha does 22 mile XC from Carn Brea to Lizard to Helston to Falmouth! - May 30th (midday)

John Trewartha, Andy Larder, Andy Hancock and me on the hill. My first time flying at Carn Brea - a positive summer's day, with convergence more inland and towards the Lizard. Exciting watching the thermals move through, with sea gulls circling 1000 ft above us, below the building cumulus. John timed it perfectly and after working the lift for 10 minutes was drifting back at well over 1000 ft. We strained our eyes to kept track of him at cloud base as he flew towards the Lizard, a tiny dot in the sky. Later he e-mailed: "Lizard, Helston then Falmouth - over 22 miles - my best for Cornwall. Where were you? I was waiting for you at cloud base." For John's write-up of this flight, click here.